Wine and Spirits Travel

My friend Lynn and I slept well on our first night on the American Queen . We had a full day a head of us and we started with a quick breakfast at the Front Porch Café. One of the complimentary amenities of the cruise line was unlimited specialty coffees and we took full advantage preparing our lattes to taste with our eggs and pastries. The American Queen is all about conservation. Everyone was given a water bottle and there were water filling stations on every floor. There were no plastic water bottles available. Another thing available to all passengers at no charge were the hop on, hop off bus tours at every stop. It was nice to have the freedom to explore, with transportation that included taking my scooter on the bus, a guide telling us about the towns and attractions, and all admission fees paid by the American Queen Voyages. Our first experience with the tours was in Red Wing . I had never been to this Minnesota town before and I was looking forward to checking it out.

My friend, Lynn, and I had a good night’s sleep at the Radison Blu Mall of America , but we knew we had a very full day ahead. It started with breakfast in the hotel’s conference room with the other passengers to be on our American Queen voyage. Everyone was friendly and we were all excited to be embarking on this journey in the afternoon. River cruises work differently than ocean liners when it comes to check-in. Since there is no cruise port for everyone to gather in and check-in, it’s done in the hotel. This was pretty much the only thing in our weeklong trip that was disorganized. They used temporary workers in the port and we would later learn that most of the information we were given was wrong. Everyone tried to keep their cool and figured they’d straighten things (like dinner seatings and excursions) on the ship. When I found out I would have a free day in the Minneapolis area I wanted to finally visit Paisley Park, Prince’s former home. I thought it would work out, bu

Like most of the world, I haven’t taken any big trips the last few years. Getting on an airplane or a cruise ship has not seemed like a good idea for someone who is immunocompromised. An opportunity came up that made me rethink this. American Queen Voyages is not your usual cruise line. The majority of their cruises are wholly within the United States (a few stop in Canada). Their ships are all small and they have four riverboats with wide open areas so you are not ever waiting on lines for food or disembarking with thousands of people. I was offered a cruise that was entirely in the Midwest, so if there were any health issues, I could be home within a few hours drive. I have to confess that it was also nice to not have to worry about tropical storms and rough waters as we would only be on the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The ship I was heading to is the America Queen, christened by godmother Priscilla Presley in 1995, and refurbished 12 years later. It’s the largest of th

My friend Joan and I had been enjoying Wildlife Prairie Park , just outside of Peoria, Illinois. It was a perfect post-pandemic trip with lots of space in the open air. Brad Windsor, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sam Himegarner, Director of Hospitality, picked us up in the morning for another tour. The property is so big we still hadn’t seen it all between the first day tour and our previous day exploration. Our first stop was to see Mike the bison. The 19-yer-old was once a movie star and now shares his home with Elsa the elk. We took a look at the banquet hall. It can hold up to 200 people and the ability to both have a moonrise and sunrise over an open patio makes it an ideal wedding location. I was impressed with Hazel’s Overlook. Beyond the spectacular views is Native American folklore plaques dedicated to Hazel Rutherford. She and her husband Bill were major benefactors of the park. I was also happy to see the park is set up for accessibility in many areas. I was able